This week’s writing prompt is Wide Open Spaces. There are obvious ways this prompt could be taken; ancestors that homesteaded, or had a great love of the outdoors, etc. What came to mind immediately was the song “Wide Open Spaces” by The Chicks. I was lucky enough to see them in concert in Las Vegas on the weekend of 24 June 2000. I remember the date because Natalie Maines talked about getting married that weekend. She married, her now ex-husband, Adrian Pasdar, on that date. I did not know at the time if I shared any ancestors with the members of The Chicks. I first looked at the family tree of singer Natalie Maines. I did not discover any shared ancestry with her. But when I looked at the sisters Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, I discovered that we share several ancestors!
I discovered at least four sets of shared ancestors with the sisters. We may have even more connections, but those are the ones I noticed right away when viewing their tree. All of our shared ancestors that migrated to Colonial America were in search of land, freedom, and the vast wide-open spaces that were not available to them in their home countries of England and Scotland.
The photo above is during the time the sisters were part of the duo The Court Yard Hounds. The band was active from 2009 to 2013. The duo, consisting of Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, sisters and founding members of the Dixie Chicks, formed the band during a Dixie Chicks hiatus. They released two albums, “Court Yard Hounds” in 2010 and “Amelita” in 2013. The Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) later reformed, leading to an indefinite hiatus for the Court Yard Hounds. Emily Robinson is now known as Emily Strayer, after her marriage to Martin Strayer in 2013.
None of our connections make us close kin. The first, and closest connection, is via our seventh great-grandparents, Samuel Prindle and Dorothy Plumb. In the past, I have written about our Plumb/Crackbone and related Baldwin ancestors.
Samuel Prindle was born in Colonial New Haven Connecticut. He was the son of William Prindle (Pringle), who was born in Scotland and migrated to Colonial Connecticut, and his wife Mary ___.
My line continues with the son Daniel Prindle and his second wife Phebe Judd. These are the ancestors of my maternal great-grandmother Anna Cora Prindle Cole Cantley. The sisters line continues with the son Samuel Prindle and his wife Abigail Mudge. I have yet to write exclusively about my Prindle ancestors, but when I do, I will include the sisters in the famous kin descended from them.
Edmund Moody in The Tudors, Season 1, Episode 4.
The next set of ancestors that we share are our tenth great-grandparents Thomas Kilbourne and Frances Moody. Prior, I did write about our, somewhat well-known in history, ancestor Edmund Moody who saved the life of Henry VIII and in doing so changed history.
These are the ancestors of my maternal third great-grandmother Cordelia Merchant Cole.
The photo I posted above is of an actor playing Edmund Moody in The Tudors, Season 1, Episode 4. They do not name this servant that saved Henry VIII’s life in that TV series. I do not know who the actor is, his name is not listed in the credits. So, my ancestor gets only a small nod for a few minutes. In the limited series Wolf Hall, the accident and saving of Henry VIII is not shown, but my ancestor is mentioned by name.
St Mary’s Church, Kings Walden, Hertfordshire, UK. Photo is public domain.
Our next connection is our shared eleventh great-grandparents Rev. Robert Prudden and his wife Mildred ____. I have yet to write about my Prudden ancestors.
They are the ancestors of my maternal third great-grandmother Cordelia Merchant Cole.
When Rev. Robert Prudden died, most of his children were minors. His wife Mildred went on to marry Hugh Ingram. The family relocated to London, where Hugh was involved with the Merchant Taylors Guild, and at one point served as the Grand Master.
The transition to London must have been thrilling, considering the Prudden family had spent many years in the small agricultural community of Kings Walden, which is surrounded by the nearby towns of Luton, Streatley, and the tiny settlement of Hitchin, merely a crossroads. Observing the international traders and the exchange of various goods such as fabrics, fish, furs, herbs, wine, and lumber, organizations for trading with Africa and Turkey were established. In 1559, the Dutch controlled the pepper trade, resulting in prices soaring to 8 shillings per pound. To challenge this monopoly, the East India Company was created. Colonial enterprises were dispatched to the New World, with merchant adventurers funding Capt. John Smith’s venture into a Virginia plantation nearly 14 years prior to the arrival of the Mayflower in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and only 22 years before the founding of Milford, Connecticut by his son Rev. Peter Prudden.
The sisters and I also share twelfth great-grandparents Jacob French and Susan Warren. They are the ancestors of my maternal third great-grandmother Cordelia Merchant Cole.
The French family originated from Bures St. Mary and Assington, located in Suffolk, England. Jacob French was the offspring of Thomas French. Aside from being the father of Jacob and Thomas Jr., not much is known about him. He likely married around the year 1550. His ancestry and the name of his spouse remain unknown.
Jacob French wed Susann Warren on September 27, 1578, at Bures St. Mary in Suffolk. The parish is situated partly in Suffolk and partly in Essex, with the Stour River serving as the dividing line between the two counties. Jacob relocated to Assington around 1585 or 1586 or shifted his church affiliation to that location. Assington is adjacent to Bures to the north.
It appears that Susan Warren is probably the daughter or granddaughter of William and Katherine Warren from Bures St. Mary. The names William and Katherine are passed down through the generations.
Below is a video of The Chicks singing “Wide Open Spaces”.
If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:
A few months ago, I stumbled upon new information regarding my great-great grandfather, Elias Nutick. Frankly, I did not know what to do with this new information. I was taken aback by my strong emotional response to the news. I set about trying to discover any available background information directly related to his death.
I attempted to find original records like court documents, newspaper articles, or historical society records that detailed the event and the reasons behind it. I came up empty. No matter how I spelled his surname, I could find no newspaper articles related to his death. No court documents or historical records. Update: If you scroll down further, a fellow genealogist that follows my blog was quite helpful and was able to locate a newspaper article regarding the suicide.
The above image is from the Laurel Cemetery records. It’s an entry on a page that lists numerous individuals alphabetically buried in the cemetery.
What we learn from the entry is that the spelling of his surname, even at the time of his death, was not uniform. The cemetery record lists his name as Eli W. Utick. His tombstone lists his name as Eli Nutick. In various records it’s spelled numerous ways. The earliest record I can locate is his marriage records, where his name is listed as Elias Wegt. In the census, and other records, it’s found as Udig, Utick, Otte, Udie, and eventually as Nutick.
In the baptism record of his daughter, Katharine Caroline Utig (Carrie Nutick), he is listed as Elias Utig.
We do learn from the cemetery record that his middle name began with the letter W. That he was 50 years old at the time of his death, putting his year of birth as 1837, or possibly 1836 if his birthday was in the second half of the year. He was a laborer, born in Germany. His residence at the time of his death was Madisonville. He died 7 June 1887 from hanging and was buried three days later on the 10th of June.
This left his wife, Margaret Weiss Nutick, a widow, at the age of forty, with seven children aged 2 to 19 years old. Since I cannot locate any court records or newspaper articles showing he was in legal trouble, it appears he must have taken his own life. The newspaper article from the Cincinnati Evening Post confirms it was a suicide. Sadly, suicide is a tragic reality in many family histories.
Due to his surname being spelled various ways, even at the time of his death, that may be why I cannot locate any records regarding his death. In Hamilton County, Ohio, the recording of deaths in a standard certificate format began on 20 December 1908. Prior to this, from 1867 to December 19, 1908, death records were kept as line entries in ledger books by the county probate court. The state of Ohio made it a law to record deaths in 1867.
I painstakingly went through the Hamilton County, Ohio death records. It appears that deaths were reported by cemeteries to Hamilton County. I did not locate his death record, but if it was supplied by the cemetery, it would read the same as the Laurel Cemetery record. Original Hamilton County records were destroyed due to fire and floods. The public were encouraged to voluntarily come to the court and record their families’ death records. Due to those circumstances, the county death records for this time period, are not complete.
I searched through the indexes of the listings of death in German language newspapers: Cincinnati Volksfreund, Cincinnati Free Presse, Cincinnati Volksblatt, Cincinnati Zeitung, and English newspapers: Cincinnati Daily Gazette, Cincinnati Commercial, Cincinnati Free Times, and Cincinnati Enquirer. I found no listings for the surname Nutick, or any of the other various spellings of his name in the time period near his death.
Update: Many thanks to my 52 Ancestors friend Barb, who follows my blog, she was able to locate information regarding his suicide on the front page of the Cincinatti Evening Post, in the 9 June 1887 edition. The story is not for the faint of heart. The newspaper story goes into grisly details at times. The photo above is of the Nutick house in Madisonville, with four of the children standing on the porch. This is where the suicide occurred in the basement of the house.
We learn quite a bit about the family in the article. We learn that his wife, Margaret (Margarethe) Weiss Nutick, received an inheritance from her family in Klingenmünster, Germany. Her mother, Margaretha Fried, died in Klingenmünster in 1853. I had been unable to locate a death record for her father, Heinrich Weiss. I was unsure if he remained in Germany or came to the USA with his daughter. This snippet of information regarding an inheritance from Germany, leads me to believe that he remained in Germany, leaving his two children that lived to adulthood, including my ancestor, with an inheritance.
We learn he was injured earlier in life, which left him with a limp. He worked as a laborer but had been out of work recently. The family was poor, despite his wife receiving a family inheritance, which it appears she kept separate from family finances.
I’m left to wonder which of the Nutick children was the one who found his body? I’m sure that trauma affected them for the rest of their lives. My direct ancestor, Alice Elizabeth Nutick, was aged sixteen when the suicide occurred. From reading the newspaper account, it appears it was a younger child that found him in the throes of dying in the basement. Although, it could have been one of the tween or teen children. Valentine was an adult. Carrie (Katharine Caroline) was fourteen. George Jacob was twelve. Emma Mae was seven. Charles was four. Harry Henry was one day away from his birthday when his father died, he was just shy of two years old.
The article states there were six children, there were actually seven Nutick children. The article incorrectly gives the name of his wife as Elizabeth. Her name was actually Margaret (Margarethe).
The article states he is aged sixty years old at the time of death. The cemetery record states he was aged fifty years old. The 1870 census lists his age as twenty-eight years old. The 1880 census lists him as sixty-four!
I am not sure that I appreciate how they describe my great-great grandmother as “…the widow past middle life and looked the picture of despair.” She was only forty years old! Although, I am sure she did look the picture of despair considering what she was dealing with that day.
Today, June 25th, is National Leon Day. Leon is Noel spelled backward. The day is a playful reminder that Christmas is only six months away. It is the day some crafters begin planning their homemade gifts and decorations. It can also be a day for those who miss the winter holidays to have a mini-winter celebration in June. Leon Day is a fun and whimsical observance that marks the halfway point to Christmas.
Leon Day seemed like the ideal day to write about my direct ancestors with the surname 🎄 Christmas!
The Christmas surname was given to someone born near or on Christmas, or someone who organized Christmas festivities. It’s also noted to be a translation of the French surname “Noel”. It was a descriptive surname, signifying a connection to the holiday. The name has roots in Middle English, stemming from Cristes Maesse, which translates to Christ’s Mass. Early records of the name, like John Crystmasse in 1433, confirm its use in England, particularly in the south.
My 12th great-grandparents are John Christmas and Agnes Border. Their marriage record is found in the church records of St. Mary’s in Worplesdon, Surrey, England. They married on 30 January 1574.
Photo above is of St. Mary the Virgin Church and Churchyard in Worplesdon, Surrey, England.
I have been unable to locate the baptism record of John Christmas. He is listed as the oldest son in the will of Thomas Christmas. His father, Thomas Christmas, was the son of Henry Christmas and Julia ____. Thomas Christmas was married on 28 January 1576 in Worplesdon, Surrey, England to Joan Inwood. It appears that at least some, if not all, of Thomas’ children were via an earlier marriage to an unknown named wife. His marriage to Joan Inwood was far too late for her to be the mother of his children.
Will of Thomas Christmas:
Dated: 9 Mar 1587/8. Proved: 19 Mar 1587/8.
I, Thomas Christmas, the elder, Clothier of Worplesdon, Surrey:
Beneficiaries :
Wife Johane [Joan] Christmas (Her belongings at marriage, £15). Oldest son John Christmas (£100, to be repaid if he dies before his wife). Sons Thomas Christmas (£50), William Christmas (£50), son in law John Elliott (plus £100 in tail to son John). Godson Thomas Christmas (£20), John his brother (40s). Daughter Johane Elliott (Household items). Godson Thomas Elliott and brother John Elliott (40s ea). Brothers in law Richard Ynowde, William Ynowde (20s ea) Arnold Ynowde (20s). Sister-in-law Johane Ynowde (10s) John Ynowde (10s).
Also Mentioned: To be buried in Worplesdowne. The poor of the parish. Richard Pattfowlde. Godchildren.
Overseers: Friend John Cutler pardon of Worplesdowne, Eldest son John Christmas, Harry Martyne, Francis Hounte.
Executors: Son Thomas Christmas.
Witnesses: John Christmas, Heniri Martyn, Francisei Hounte.
The surname Ynwode was later rendered Inwood.
Thomas Christmas lived in Perryhill (Worplesdon), Surrey.
From his will, we learn that he was a clothier. Clothiers in Tudor times were generally considered part of the merchant class. Tudor society was structured hierarchically, and citizens or burgesses, which included merchants and officials in cities, were considered a distinct social group, often possessing enough wealth to own property and employ servants.
The cloth trade in Tudor England was extremely important and involved workers from different sections of society. Merchants dealt in the import and export of raw materials and finished products and generally could be very wealthy men. Laborers were paid by merchants to carry out the various stages of cloth production.
Photo above is of St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Worplesdon, Surrey, England.
John Christmas, his wife, Alice Border, his father, Thomas Christmas, and his grandparents, Henry Christmas and Julia, are all buried in St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Worplesdon, Surrey, England.
John Christmas, in addition to being listed as a beneficiary in his father Thomas Christmas’ will, is also listed as a beneficiary in the will of his brother Robert Christmas in 1584.
Worplesdon is a village 3.1 miles (5.0 km) NNW of Guildford in Surrey, England and is about 40 miles (64 km) from London, England.
Shown above is a record of Worplesdon from 1542/1543. As you can see, my ancestors and related family, Thomas Crystmas (Christmas), Johe (John) Crystmas (Christmas), and Henrico (Henry) Christmas are listed in the document.
My next ancestor is Richard “Rich” Christmas, the son of Thomas Christmas and Agnes Border. He was baptized 6 December 1590 at St. Mary’s Church in Guildford, Surrey, England. The distance between Guildford and Worplesdon is 3.1 miles (5.0 km).
Richard Christmas was a merchant in London, England.
I need to discuss here that many people have confused Dictoris William Christmas and Richard “Rich” Christmas, both of Colonial Virginia.
There was a Dictoris Christmas. The Virginia Historical Magazine notes his name as Dictoris William Christmas. In Runwell, Essex, England, records show Dictoris Christmas arrested for sheep stealing, the stealing of three sheep from Simon Ryme, in 1618. Some say imprisoned and others say released as not guilty. In the 1620’s he is seen in the Virginia records. This would establish that Dictoris was probably born in the Essex area. He moved from there to the Virginia Colony by 1623.
The 1623-1666 `List of Living & Dead, Ships Passenger Lists, Elizabeth City, Virginia at the Eastern Shore’ shows on page 31 Dictoras Chrismus and Elizabeth Chrismus.
THE WILL OF Dictoris Christmas:
In the name of God Amen 20 October 1654. I Dictoris Christmas of the New Poquoson being weak of body but of perfect mind and memory Praise be given to God do ordain and make this my last Will and Testament in form following:
First principally I do commit my soul with the hands of the Lord and my body to the earth from whence it came lasting and steadfastly believing the happy salvation of both the same my soul with the hands of the Lord and my body to the earth from whence it came lasting and steadfastly believing the happy salvation of both the same my soul and body in the latter day by the free gift of God through merits of the death and passing of that immaculate Lamb Christ Jesus my only Lord, Redeemer, Laudifier, and Savior and by no otherwise or means whatsoever.
ITEM: I give and bequeath unto my Maid Rebecca one cow calf to be delivered within 3 months after my decease and to my man Robert one cow calf to be delivered as aforesaid and also give unto Nicholas servant to Peter Starkey cow calf to be delivered aforesaid. And also I give unto Rebecca one goose of her favor or a cow to be delivered at the appropriation of her time which pleaseth them.
ITEM: I give to my loving friend Peter Starkey all my land, housing, chattel and chattels movable and immovable after my wife’s decease. Peter Starkey employing my servants as formally he hath done and also I make my wife whole executor of all of my estate also I do make Peter Starkey and Henry Freeman overseer of this my last will and testament. In witness I have hereunto set my hand and seal the said day and year above written.
Dictoris W. CHRISTMAS {SEAL} Alexander Shipworth Robert Ffoukes
As you can see by reading the will, he lists no children or close kin other than his wife. He leaves items to his maid Rebecca, “my man” Robert, Nicholas – servant to Peter Sharkey, and he leaves all his land, housing, chattels, movable and immovable, after his wife’s decease, to his loving friend Peter Starkey. He lists no children or other heirs. His name is listed as Dictoris W. Christmas. The name of his wife is not listed, and it is thought that Elizabeth Christmas, found in Ships Passenger Lists of Elizabeth City, Virginia at the Eastern Shore, was actually the wife of a younger man named Victoris Christmas.
Many people try to merge Dictoris W. Christmas with Richard “Rich” Christmas into the same person. This is incorrect. Dictoris W. Christmas was from near Runwell, Essex, England. Richard “Rich” Christmas was baptized in Guildford, Surrey, England. The distance between Runwell and Guildford is 76.6 miles (123.3 km). They were from two different Christmas families found in different areas of southern England, both ending up in Colonial Virginia.
Because of this confusion, some list Elizabeth as the wife of Richard Christmas, sometimes giving her name as Isabel, or even Mary. The name of the wife of Richard Christmas is unknown and unproven. I have been unable to locate the will of Richard Christmas. Rich Christmas is listed in transportation records to Virginia in 1634 and 1637. But we know that my ancestor, Goodman Christmas, was the son of Richard Christmas.
A bit of information about the word Goodman. Goodman was a polite term of address in England (and Colonial America), similar to Mr. today, and equal to Goodwife for females. It was not a proper first name. I believe his birth name was John. I located the baptism record for John Christmas, baptized 28 February 1629 in Worpledon, Surrey, England, the son of Richard Christmas. Richard Christmas had a brother named John, and his grandfather was John Christmas, so Goodman John Christmas was named after his great-grandfather and his uncle. In many family trees, people list Goodman John Christmas with the additional name of Gad.
There are a few occurrences of him being listed as Gad:
13 October 1653: Gad Christmas witnesses land deed of John Withers upon Potomak, County of Westmoreland. VA Land Records in NC, page 734.
11 April 1666: Gad Christmas: Subpoenaed to court by Thomas Atkinson in Stafford Co, VA & paid 40lbs tobacco. Order book, Stafford Co 1664-1668 & 1689-1690, page 26.
Gad is a name of Hebrew origin. It was a very uncommon first name in England at the time of his birth. It does have Biblical connections, but it was not widely used as first name in England. It was a little more common as a surname and often was a Jewish surname. It can be a nickname for the first name Gadiel, but as with Gad, it was a very uncommon first name in England.
Some also attach a Gad baptism record to him that is incorrect. This baptism record is found more than a century after his birth. There is a baptism record for a Gad on 15 October 1768 at All Saints and Hatchford, St. Matthew, Surrey, England. This baptism record is for Anna Maria Gad, daughter of Rich Gad and Elizabeth. So, it’s not the correct century, it’s a female, and the surname is Gad, not Christmas. Also, this baptism record is partly why some have incorrectly given Richard Christmas’ wife’s name as Elizabeth. There are zero baptism records in England with the first names Gad or Gadiel and the surname Christmas.
I have been unable to view the actual records that list him as Gad. I wonder if it was instead an abbreviation of Goodman and was incorrectly read as Gad.
According to a letter written by George Mason of Gunston Hall in 1787, the Christmas family had a settlement and a three-life-lease (99 years) at Oyster Shell Landing on the south side of Poluck [Pohick] Creek in Stafford County, Virginia. This part of Stafford County became Fairfax County, Virginia in 1742. Goodman Christmas lived in York County, Virginia; as of 1666, he lived in Stafford County, Virginia.
As stated above, Goodman John “Gad” Christmas was baptized as John Christemas on 28 February 1629 in Worpledon, Surrey, England, as the son of Richard Christemas. He lived in York and Stafford Counties in Virginia. His residence was on the south side of Poluck [Pohick] Creek, which at the time was in Stafford County, Virginia, but later became part of Fairfax County, Virginia. It is thought that he died in 1708 in Stafford County, Virginia.
The name of the wife of Goodman Christmas is unproven. Some list him as marrying Ann (___) Duke. I have seen no documentation to prove this was the name of his wife. It was his grandson, Thomas Cross Christmas, that married Annie Duke.
Goodman Christmas had at least one child, my ancestor, Charles Christmas.
Charles Christmas was born about 1650 in Stafford County, Virginia and died after 1705 in Stafford County, Virginia. He married Mary Cross. The parentage of Mary Cross is unproven.
My next ancestor is Thomas Cross Christmas, the son of Charles Christmas and Mary Cross. He was born 16 October 1689 in Pohick, Stafford County, Virginia, and died 29 December 1769 in St. Martin’s Parish, Hanover County, Virginia. He married Annie Duke. I have Christmas DNA matches to the descendants of the siblings of my ancestor, Thomas Cross Christmas — other children of Charles Christmas and Mary Cross.
Annie Duke was the daughter of John Duke II and Bridget ____. John Duke II was the son of John Duke, Sr. and Elizabeth _____. The maiden name of Elizabeth is unproven. She married firstly to John King, secondly to John Duke, Sr. and thirdly to Robert Mercer.
Annie (Duke) Christmas and her father, John Duke, II, have been proven through yDNA studies at FamilyTreeDNA to be part of group 2, aka, the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, Duke Family, not the Henrico County, Virginia, Duke Family as previous published documents showed. As of 19 August 2020, the earliest known Isle of Wight County, Virginia Duke ancestor established is John Duke, Sr.
John Duke (Sr.) is the first provable member of the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, Duke family, although it is very likely that he is actually the second generation. Property records from Chuckatuck, Isle of Wight, Virginia (then Nansemond County) show on 21 April 1665, Jeremiah “Jeremy” Rutter received a Land Grant of 300 acres. John Duke bought 50 acres from J. Rutter a short time later as John Duke was mentioned as living adjacent to J. Rutter in 1667.
There is some anecdotal evidence that indicates that John Duke, Sr.’s father could be an immigrant from England named William Duke that died in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. While unproven, it is plausible that William Duke was the father of the John Duke, Sr. who was born in Isle of Wight around 1640. If true, he may have still been living in 1679, when he appears as a witness on a land transaction for William Boddie, who later sold land to John’s son John Duke II.
The Isle of Wight County Virginia, Duke family followed a path to Brunswick County, Virginia, and subsequently to Northampton and Orange County, North Carolina.
Children of Thomas Cross Christmas and Annie Duke:
Agnes Christmas was born 1 January 1715 in Hanover County, Virginia, and died 9 December 1768 in Louisa County, Virginia. She married on 21 March 1733 in Hanover County, Virginia, to James Whitlock, III. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).
Sarah Ann Christmas was born about 1718 in Virginia, and died 8 December 1771 in Hanover County, Virginia. She married Benjamin Saunders. (I have a DNA match to their descendants).
Capt. John Christmas, Sr. was born about 1720 in Hanover County, Virginia, and died in 1763 in Orange County, North Carolina. He married Mary Graves. (I have DNA matches to their descendants). (The direct ancestors of my family in Missouri).
Elizabeth Christmas was born about 1721 in Hanover County, Virginia, and she died in September 1799 in Jefferson County, Georgia. She married Thomas Paulett. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).
Catherine “Katy” Christmas was born about 1723 in Hanover County, Virginia, and died about 1769 in Hanover County, Virginia. She married John Higgason. (I have a DNA match to their descendants).
Rachel Ann Christmas was born about 1725 in Hanover County, Virginia. She married David Chisholm. (I have a DNA match to their descendants).
Thomas Christmas II was born about 1727 in Hanover County, Virginia, and died 9 December 1768 in North Carolina. He married Temperance Whitlock. (My direct ancestors).
The youngest child above, Thomas Christmas II, and his wife, Temperance Whitlock, are my direct ancestors. Temperance Whitlock was the daughter of James Whitlock and Frances ____.
The direct ancestor of my Missouri family is Capt. John Christmas, and his wife Mary Graves. He was an older brother of my direct ancestor Thomas Christmas II.
Side note: My McLemore cousins that share Fay/Doughty ancestors with me, descend twice from Thomas Cross Christmas and Annie Duke. They descend from Thomas Christmas II and Temperance Whitlock, as well as descending from Capt. John Christmas and Mary Graves.
Will of THOMAS CHRISTMAS (Thomas Cross Christmas):
Will: Thomas Christmas of St. Martins Parish, Hanover Co., VA. 29, Dec. 1768. Recorded Hanover Co., VA Sep 7, 1769. Attested copy records Bute Co., NC, Feb. court 1770.
In the name of God Amen. I Thomas Christmas of the Parish of St. Martins in the County of Hanover, being sick and weak of body, but of perfect mind and memory. thanks be given to Almighty God for the same and calling to mind the uncertainty of this vanishing life and being willing to settle my worldly affairs in order, do make this my last will and testament in manner and form following.
I command my soul to God who gave it hoping thru death and merits of Jesus Christ my Savior to be made Partaker of the never fading joys of Immortality at the day of Resurrection and as for what temporal Estate it has pleased God to bestow upon me I give and bequeath the same In manner and form fo11owing, that is to say,
First: I give and bequeath unto my son John Christmas and to him and heirs and assigns forever, one feather bed and furniture, my riding chair and harness one horse names Shaven, also five Negroes (Viz.) Old Peter, Charles, Young Peter, Young Harry and Milly;
Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth Paulett to her and to her heirs and assigns forever, one feather bed and furniture, and eight Negroes (Viz.) Matt, Louise, Fanny and her two girls, Jenny and Morning and one boy Stephen, Old Beck and her child Beck;
Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughter Caty Higgason to her and to her heirs and assigns forever, one feather bed and furniture; also six Negroes (Viz.) Quon, Will, Old Ned, Moses, Rachel and Nan; also all the land I hold on the North side of the road being Part of the track I Purchased of James Flannakin, and also thirty Pounds current money;
Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughter Rachel Chrisholm to her and her heirs and assigns forever, one feather bed and furniture, also eight Negroes (Viz.) Old Harry, Young Ned, Robin, Lucy and her two children, Betty & Rachel also Lidy and Betty.
Item: I give and bequeath unto the children of my son Thomas Christmas, deceased, (Viz.) John, Mary, Thomas, Richard and William Christmas to be equally divided between them and their heirs and assigns forever, at the time William Christmas, the younger shall arrive to the age of sixteen years of age, Six negroes (Viz.) Tom, Dick, Blackman, Moll, Judah and Patt, also three stock of cattle, sheep and working tools which Is now in the Possession of Temperance Christmas, widow of my son Thomas Christmas;
Item: It is my will and desire and accordingly order It so that the estate so as above given to my Grandchildren be immediately after my decease taken in the hands and under the management of my son, John Christmas and his son, Thomas Christmas and by them be divided accordingly as above directed, sooner if they think proper.
Item: I give and bequeath unto my six grandchildren (Viz.) Charles Whitlock, James Whitlock, Mary Jones, Anne Austine, Thomas Whitlock and Nathaniel Whitlock, to them and to their heirs, assigns forever ten pounds current money each.
Item: I give and bequeath unto my five grandchildren (Viz.) John Sanders, Elizabeth Sims, Nancy Sanders, Mary Sanders and Reitta Sanders, to them and to their heirs, assigns forever ten pounds current money each.
Item: I give and bequeath unto John Christmas, son of Elizabeth Paulett, to him and to their heirs, assigns forever twenty pounds current money;
Item: I desire all that tract, parcel of land and plantation whereon I now live, lying on the South side of the road together with all the rest and residue of my Estate of what nature or quality so ever may be sold to the best advantage by my Executors hereafter mentioned and the money arising by such sale to go in discharge of the above Legacies given by me in current money and the over plus to be equally divided between my four children (Viz.) John Christmas, Elizabeth Paulett, Caty Higgason, Rachel Chrisholm, and the children of my son, Thomas Christmas, deceased, who are to be entitled to one fifth part amongst them share and share alike.
Item: It is my will and desire that my estate be not appraised, And lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint my son, John Christmas and John Higgason Executors of this my Last Will and Testament hereby revoking and making void and null all former will or wills heretofore made Confirming this and no other to be my Last Will and Testament. In Testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this the ninth day of December One thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight.
Thomas Christmas [by Mark] [Seal]
Sealed and delivered in the presence of David Anderson, Richard Higgason & John Higgason.
Hanover Co., VA. Sept. 7, 1769. The Last Will and Testament of Thomas Christmas, deceased was offered to proof by John Christmas and John Higgason, the Executors therein named and was proved by the Oath of David Anderson, Richard Higgason and John Higgason the witnesses thereto, and also by Oath of the said Executors, and Ordered to be Recorded. Test: William Pollard C.H.C
As stated above, my line is via the youngest son, Thomas Christmas, II and his wife, Temperance Whitlock. They are my direct ancestors.
My family in Missouri, which share Christmas ancestors with me, are descended from the son Capt. John Christmas, Sr. and his wife Mary Graves. John was a large landowner and captain of the Granville County, North Carolina, militia in 1763. John acquired about ten thousand acres of land in Orange County, North Carolina, and moved there in 1777. In 1778, John received 450 acres on the waters of Little Creek, Orange County, North Carolina. On 9 September 1779, John was issued 117 acres in Warren County, North Carolina, on the waters of Sandy Creek at Nichol’s line. John died in 1783 in Orange County, North Carolina, having lived to see his five oldest sons serve as officers during the American Revolutionary War.
Pictured above is Elizabeth “Eliza” Wilhoit Ellis, the daughter of Francis Moore “Fanny” Christmas and Lewis Willis Wilhoite.
The direct line of ancestors of my family in Missouri, taking the Christmas line as far back to our earliest proven Christmas ancestor:
Henry Christmas and Julia ____.
Thomas Christmas.
John Christmas and Agnes Border.
Richard “Rich” Christmas.
Goodman John Christmas.
Charles Christmas and Mary Cross.
Thomas Cross Christmas and Annie Duke.
Capt. John Christmas, Sr. and Mary Graves.
James Christmas and Elizabeth “Betsy” Courtney.
Frances Moore “Fanny” Christmas and Lewis Willis Wilhoite.
Elizabeth M. “Eliza” Wilhoit (pictured above) and William Michael Ellis.
Eliza Jane Ellis and Benjamin Franklin McElwain.
Eliza Adella Jane McElwain and Matthew Wilson Dugan.
David Gay Dugan and Hester E. Singleton.
Dolores Evonne “Evonne” Dugan and Jack Joe Stevens.
Back to my direct line of ancestors, Thomas Christmas II and Temperance Whitlock.
Thomas Christmas’ will was recorded on 16 November 1768 in Bute County, North Carolina. His executor in Hanover County, Virginia, was John Christmas. His executrix, his wife, Temperance Christmas, posted bond on 16 February 1770, before Benjamin McCulloch, C. C., with Nathan Peebles and Thomas Christmas as security. On 17 February 1770 Temperance returned an estate inventory, and the estate was ordered to be sold by the sheriff. In May 1770, an account of the estate sales was made by Thomas Bridges, Deputy Sheriff.
Temperance Whitlock Christmas’ father, James Whitlock, bequeathed enslaved laborers to Temperance and her mother and sisters. Her father’s probate was in 1736 in Hanover County, Virginia.
Children of Thomas Christmas II and Temperance Whitlock:
John Christmas was born about 1748 in Hanover County, Virginia, and died 29 April 1781 in Warren County, North Carolina. After his father’s death in 1768, John was bound out on 15 November 1769 in Bute County, North Carolina, as an apprentice to Reuben Piles for four years. He was to learn carpentry and house joinery.
Thomas Christmas (III) was born about 1749 in Warren County, North Carolina, and died about 1810 in North Carolina. He married Mary Ann Horn.
Mary Christmas was born about 1751 in St. Martins Parish, Hanover County, Virginia, and died in 1819 in Clark County, Indiana. She married about 1767 in North Carolina, to George Barnes. (My direct ancestors). Mary Christmas, along with her siblings and mother, are listed in the will of her grandfather Thomas Christmas.
Richard Christmas was born 4 January 1764 in Warren County, North Carolina, and died 22 September 1847 in Midland, Muscogee County, Georgia. He married first to Ann Butler, and second to Molley Robinson. (I have DNA matches to their descendants).
William Christmas was born in 1766 in Bridal Creek, Warren County, North Carolina, and died after 1840 in Indiana. He married on 23 May 1790 in Warren County, North Carolina, to Elizabeth Ford Jenkins. (I have several DNA matches to their descendants).
At this point, we lose the Christmas surname, and it becomes Barnes. Mary Christmas, the daughter of Thomas Christmas II and Temperance Whitlock, married George Barnes about 1767 in North Carolina. The parentage of George Barnes is unproven; I continue my research on his family and looking to DNA for some proof of his parentage and family roots.
I need to discuss here that some list Elizabeth Barnes McGuire as the daughter of Brinsley Barnes and Isabella Teague and sometimes try to give him the name Brinsley George Barnes. He was never listed in any record with the name George. We know for sure that Elizabeth was the daughter of George Barnes due to her marriage and other records. Brinsley Barnes and Isbella Teague did have a daughter named Elizabeth Barnes, but she married George Snow. My ancestor was not the daughter of Brinsley Barnes and Isabella Teague.
Others list her as the daughter of George Barnes and Doritje Van der Beek. This George Barnes married Doritje Van der Beek on 12 November 1766 in New York. He died in Richmond, Staten Island, New York in 1821, Doritje was born in Richmond, New York, and died there. This couple NEVER lived in Kentucky or the Carolinas. My ancestor, Elizabeth Barnes McGuire, was not the daughter of this George Barnes of New York.
My ancestor, Elizabeth Barnes McGuire, was the daughter of George Barnes and Mary Christmas.
Children of George Barnes and Mary Christmas:
Elizabeth Barnes was born 18 July 1768 in North Carolina, and died 12 March 1836 in Sellersburg, Clark County, Indiana. She married Francis Marion “Frank” McGuire on 12/20 October 1789 in Bourbon County, Kentucky. They were married by Rev. Andrew McClure. (My direct ancestors).
John Barnes was born about 1772 in North Carolina. He is found living in Bourbon County, Kentucky in the 1800 census. He married Jenny Campbell on 31 May 1797 in Bourbon County, Kentucky.
George Barnes was born about 1774 in North Carolina. He is found living in Clark County, Indiana in 1807, 1809, and 1810, and in Charlestown, Clark, Indiana in the 1820 census. Name of his wife is unknown. He had several children, including Mary Barnes who married Hollister H. Burr on 17 February 1837 in Clark County, Indiana.
Mary Barnes was born about 1780 in North Carolina. She moved with her family to Kentucky. Nothing more is known about her, she may have died as a child.
Temperance Barnes was born about 1785 in Bourbon County, Kentucky and died there before 1793.
Nancy Barnes was born about 1795 in Kentucky. She married John Fleeharty on 9 May 1820 in Clark County, Indiana.
Cassandra Barnes was born about 1798 in Kentucky and died before 1850. She married John F. Demar on 1 December 1824 in Clark County, Indiana.
I believe that the following two men are also probable children of George Barnes and Mary Christmas: Robert Barnes and David Barnes.
Some link Robert Barnes to a Cumberland County, Pennsylvania church record. But also link him as the son of a Thomas Barnes and Gizell ____, but with no records or DNA to back up this parentage.
They also link David Barnes to a Pennsylvania church record. They list him as a son of John Barnes, born in England and married about 1768 in Frederick County, Virginia to Hannah Cartmell, the family, much later, migrated to Licking County, Ohio. John Barnes served in the Revolutionary War supposedly both in Virginia and Ohio. They also link him as being in the War of 1812, but he was in his 70s by then. David Barnes did fight in the War of 1812. I do not find that this John Barnes ever lived in Pennsylvania or Kentucky.
Robert Barnes about 1771. He married Hannah Summers on 28 May 1800 in Bourbon County, Kentucky. They have him as the person in a church confirmation record of 1789 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. They have him as the Robert Barnes that petitioned to build a gristmill on the south fork of Licking River (in what would become Licking County, Ohio) in May 1799, but he married in Bourbon County, Kentucky and is found living there in 1800. I believe it’s two different men named Robert Barnes.
David Barnes born about 1770. He married Rhoda Dove about 1791 in Kentucky. He is found in the Clark County, Indiana records for 1810 and 1812, and served in the War of 1812 out of Clark County, Indiana. By 1820, he is living in Jennings County, Indiana.
Pictured above is my ancestor, John Louis Doughty, 2nd great-grandson of Mary Christmas and George Barnes.
My direct ancestors, taking the Christmas line as far back as our earliest proven Christmas ancestor:
Henry Christmas and Julia ____.
Thomas Christmas.
John Christmas and Agnes Border.
Richard “Rich” Christmas.
Goodman John Christmas.
Charles Christmas and Mary Cross.
Thomas Cross Christmas and Annie Duke.
Thomas Christmas II and Temperance Whitlock.
Mary Christmas and George Barnes.
Elizabeth Barnes and Francis Marion “Frank” McGuire.
Mary Jane “Jane” McGuire and Rev. John M. Doty/Doughty.
Mary Adalaide “Mame” Doughty and James Francis Fay. (My great-grandparents).
I have numerous Christmas DNA matches. I have listed some of those connections in my above writings. One of my Christmas DNA matches lives in Australia. Her parents were both born in England and migrated to Australia as adults. Her Christmas ancestors are from Cranleigh and Elstead, Surrey, England, which are 7.7 and 9 miles from Guildford and Worplesdon. If you take her Christmas lines back far enough, they intersect with mine.
This week’s writing prompt is wheels. Although the writing prompt could be taken as being related to transportation, trains, and railroad workers. Those that owned, operated, or worked at a service station, or stories related to ancestors that took road trips. I have chosen to write about my Wheeler ancestors.
Photo above: A wheel being assembled at the wheelwright’s shop at Colonial Williamsburg. The spokes have been driven into the hub, and the fellies, which form the rim, are being added. Image courtesy of the Historic Trades and Skills of Colonial Williamsburg
The surname Wheeler is an English occupational surname, meaning wheelwright or maker of wheels. It originates from the Middle English words wheler and whegheler, ultimately derived from the Old English words for wheel. Wheels were essential in medieval times, and wheelwrights were in high demand. It was given to those who made and repaired cartwheels. While two-wheeled carts were common, four-wheeled wagons and carriages also existed, and even solid wheels were used in some areas.
In the 1600s England, wheels were primarily made of wood and were crucial for various aspects of life, including transportation, agriculture, and domestic industries. Wheelwrights, skilled artisans, crafted these wheels, using materials like oak, ash, and elm, and sometimes bone or horn.
Types of wheels:
Wagons and Carts: Early colonists in British North America, including England, relied on wagons and carts for transportation, often importing wheels from England and constructing their own wheel bodies.
Spinning Wheels: Domestic industries, particularly the textile industry, heavily relied on spinning wheels for processing fibers into thread. The great wheel (also called the walking wheel) was a common type for wool spinning.
Agricultural Wheels: Wheels were essential for agricultural machinery like plows and carts used to transport harvests.
Graphic above is of a Medieval Wheelwright.
“Medieval wheelwrights were the unsung heroes of transportation in their time, crafting sturdy and reliable wheels that kept medieval society on the move. Their skillful craftsmanship played a crucial role in enabling trade, travel, and the functioning of medieval economies.”
— Dr. Richard Jones, Historian of Medieval Crafts and Technology.
We have no records showing that my direct Wheeler ancestors were wheelwrights in their lifetime, but we can deduce that at some point my ancestors were given the surname Wheeler because they were makers of wheels.
I actually have two sets of Wheeler ancestors, both on my maternal side.
The first Wheeler ancestor was my seventh great-grandmother, Sara (Saartje) Wielaar/Wheeler (she married Willem Sluiter/Sluyter). The daughter of Edward (Evert/Edmond) Wheeler (his surname is also listed in Dutch records as Wiler, Wieler, and Wielaar) and Josina Janse (Josyntje) Gardenier.
Although Edward Wheeler married a woman of Dutch ancestry, Josina Janse (Josyntje) Gardenier, and his first name and surname are spelled in a Dutch fashion in church records, he was not Dutch. He was born before 1668 in New England. His marriage record of 13 Oct 1689 in Albany, Albany, New York, states he was from New England. In 1689, “New England” generally referred to the northernmost British colonies in North America, encompassing what is now Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
If he had been born in England, the marriage record would have stated that fact. So, we can assume he was of a Wheeler family that lived in one of the New England states at the time.
Some list him as the son of John Wheeler and Mary Morgen. Others list him as the son of John Wheeler and Sarah Larkin.
John Wheeler and Sarah Larkin did have a son named Edward Wheeler, who was born on 17 July 1669 in Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He also died in Concord on 17 February 1733. He married Sarah Merriam on 23 November 1697. This Edward Wheeler is obviously not my ancestor Edward Wheeler.
The second, John Wheeler, was born on 14 March 1627 in Clerkenwell St James, Middlesex, England, and died 16 December 1691 at age 64 in New London, New London, Connecticut. Mary Morgen was his second wife. Not much is known about her. He had a total of eleven children, only two of which are linked to his second wife, Mary Morgen. Records do not show that he had a son named Edward. The parentage of my ancestor Edward Wheeler is unconfirmed, but The Wheeler Family History, published in 1914, and written by Raymond David Wheeler and Gordon Boyce Wheeler, places him as a possible son of John Wheeler (c: 14 Mar 1627 in Clerkenwell, St. James, Middlesex, England) who immigrated to the British American Colonies.
Some list him as baptized 17 April 1663 in Evesham, Worcestershire, England, as the son of an Edward Wheeler, but I have seen no documentation for this connection. As well as the fact that he was born in New England.
The parentage of my ancestor Edward Wheeler remains unproven and unknown. Based on his Dutch church marriage record located in the Dutch settlement of Albany, it stated he was from New England. This is typically assumed to indicate the person’s place of birth, suggesting that he was born to English parents in New England.
Photo of Medieval woman spinning wool on spinning wheel. Photo by Hans Splinter.
My second Wheeler ancestor is my tenth great-grandmother Hannah (Anna) Wheeler. She was baptized on 15 February 1618 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England. She married in New England to James Bennett. They lived in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
Hannah Wheeler was the daughter of Thomas Wheeler and Ann Halsey. Thomas Wheeler, Sr., was born about 1590. He was called “eldest son” in his father’s will. He married on 5 May 1613 at Cranfield, to Ann Halsey. They settled in Concord, Massachusetts, and then migrated to Fairfield, Connecticut, where they both died, he in 1654 and she in 1659.
Thomas Wheeler, Sr., was the son of Thomas Wheeler the elder and his first wife (name unknown). His father Thomas Wheeler, the Elder, was also known as Thomas Wheeler of Bourne End. He lived in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England.
Thomas Wheeler was frequently called either “the Elder” or “of Bourne End” in the records of Cranfield. This was to distinguish him from his oldest son, Thomas Wheeler, who was referred to as “of Wharley.” There was also a third Thomas Wheeler baptizing children in Cranfield at the same time who was referred to as Thomas Wheeler of the Town End or “of Austen Allen”.
In his father Thomas’ will, he received a bequest as ‘my eldest son Thomas’ as there was a second son Thomas, referred to in the will as ‘my youngest son.’ The father was “of the Blake Howse” when he wrote his will but was formerly referred to as “of Wharley (End)” earlier in life when he lived there. The son Thomas, the eldest son, was then also known as “of Wharley End” before he emigrated to British Colonial America.
Thomas Wheeler the elder, was a yeoman of Bourne End, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and was born about 1560-65, probably at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, where he lived and died. He was probably the son of John Wheeler of Cranfield (who made his will 9 February 1566/7 and died shortly thereafter) and Alice ____.
In the 1600s, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, was a relatively small, rural village with a strong agricultural foundation. Its economy was largely reliant on farming, particularly sheep farming, which was a major industry in the region. The village was known for its abundance of wool and was a significant contributor to the local and national wool trade
Our Wheeler ancestry goes back to at least 1399 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England.
Thomas (the elder) lived variously at Warley or Wharley End, and “Borneend”. In the survey of 1623 he had 29 acres, consisting of homesite of 7 1/4 with “Ley close adjoyning”, Grove Close of 2 1/2 acres, over 4 3/4 acres of “The Brache”, and 14 1/4 acres “Tadd Croft and Tyn Meade.” He also held lands from the Manor of Redlands. His will mentions Bourne End House (nearby to Washingley Manor House and Hill Green Farm depicted in 1765 on Jeffrey’s map of Bedfordshire as a mansion house, and the most impressive building at Bourne End).
Thomas Wheeler probably married twice. Evidence for the two marriages are two surviving sons both named Thomas (called Sr. and Jr. in later records to differentiate them) and children born over a period of about thirty years. Thomas appears to have married first to an unknown named wife, and his second wife was mentioned in his will as Rebecca. (1)
He was buried at Cranfield on 11 Feb. 1634/5 (from Bedfordshire Parish Registers) as Thomas Wheeler “of the blakehowse”. He left a will naming his wife Rebecca and eleven children. (1)
About 1637, five of Thomas’s sons, namely Thomas, Sr., Timothy, Joseph, Ephraim, and Thomas, Jr., and two of their sisters, Elizabeth and Susannah, emigrated to New England and settled in the Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
My first direct Wheeler ancestry:
Edward Wheeler and Josina Janse (Josyntje) Gardenier.
David M. Prindle, Sr. and Hannah Elizabeth Greatsinger. (see #6 in first direct Wheeler ancestry list).
Famous kin of Thomas Wheeler, Sr. and Ann Halsey:
Above is the Stockholm police wanted poster for Dr. Crippen and his mistress Ethel Le Neve.
Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen. He was an American physician hanged for the London murder of his wife Cora Henrietta Turner (aka the actress Belle Elmore). Crippen is said to be Britain’s second most infamous criminal after Jack the Ripper and the first suspect captured with the aid of wireless telegraphy when he and his mistress, who was disguised as a boy, fled across the Atlantic from England to Canada. The ship’s Captain recognized the fugitives and wired the British authorities who then sent a messenger on a faster ship to notify Canadian authorities who apprehended the pair. Unknown to the pair of fugitives, the trans-Atlantic chase was followed by millions of people via the newspapers. Crippen is the subject of author Erik Larson’s book Thunderstruck. He was descended from Hannah Wheeler and James Bennett.
There has been some forensic work done in the early 2000s, that seems to proof that he did not kill his wife. DNA has shown that she was not the body found; it was actually a male. You may read more about this at Who Was Hawley Crippen – S8 Ep3: Executed in Error. Also, at the time of his trial, there was a letter sent to him that was supposed to be from her, showing that she was alive and well and living in America at the time. His guilt is still an unsettled matter. His relations today want his name cleared. The courts in the UK have refused so far to accept the new evidence.
Other famous kin include singer and songwriter Harry Chapin. Singer, songwriter and actress Fergie. Mayflower Madam Sydney Biddle Barrows. 21st Governor of Connecticut John Treadwell. Founder of the Mormon Church Joseph Smith. 8th Prime Minister of Canada Sir Robert Laird Borden. 46th Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney. Actress Kyra Sedgwick.
I do not know of any famous kin descended from Edward Wheeler and Josina Janse (Josyntje) Gardenier. Although via the Gardenier lines, we were related to Hannah Hoes Van Buren, the wife of the eighth President of the United States, Martin Van Buren.
My seventh great-grandmother, Sarah Moore, was a Quaker. She was born about 1721 in Perquimans, North Carolina, and died 15 April 1791 in South Carolina. She married fellow Quaker, Thomas Lamb, on 1 October 1746 in Perquimans, North Carolina.
This is on my paternal side. My fifth great-grandmother, granddaughter of Sarah Moore and Thomas Lamb, was Mary Ann “Polly” Lamb, who married Samuel Doty.
Sarah Moore was the daughter of Robert Moore and Hannah Manwaring. Hannah Manwaring was the daughter of Stephen Manwaring and Hannah Voss.
In the past, many people have linked Robert Moore as being the son of William Moore and Elizabeth McBride, and giving his place of birth as Southward, Surrey, England, even though William Moore was not from Southward. Actually, William Moore was part of another Moore family living in Perquimans, North Carolina.
William Moore left a detailed will, and he does not list a son named Robert Moore. Nor does Robert Moore mention, in his will, any of the names that are linked to the proven children, grandchildren and other descendants of William Moore.
The glaring mistake here was not utilizing the records that we do have about Robert Moore’s origins. In several historical sources, it clearly states that Robert Moore was from the Isle of Man, set sail from Douglas and went to North Carolina with Rev. Richard Marsden.
Rev. Richard Marsden is an interesting character. JSTOR has written a journal article about him entitled Richard Marsden, Wayward Clergyman. He was an Anglican clergyman who traveled several times between the UK and the British American Colonies. He was born in Hornsea, Yorkshire, England.
Robert Moore was baptized on 10 November 1695 in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man.
Braddan is one of the seventeen parishes of the Isle of Man. It is located on the east of the island (part of the traditional South Side division). A part of Braddan includes the suburbs of Douglas.
He was the son of James Moore and Jane Cannell. James Moore was born in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man, and was buried 10 June 1699 in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man, in the grave of his sister. I have not been able to confirm the parentage of James Moore.
Moore is a common name in Ireland, Scotland, and the North of England, as well as in the Isle of Man. More was the usual form of the surname till the end of the 16th century. Of Gaelic/Manx origin, Moar, the name for a collector of manorial rents on the Isle of Man.
In a listing of Manx surnames by occurrences in the 1881 census of the Isle of Man, there were a total of 944 people with the name.
Jane Cannell was the daughter of Jo. Canell. She was buried 14 August 1700 at Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man. Her father, Jo. Cannell was baptized 4 November 1636 in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man. He was the son of Gilbt Cannell.
Children of Jo. Cannell:
William Cannell was baptized 8 March 1656 in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man.
Jane Cannell was married 11 August 1685 in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man, to Robert Moore. She died in June 1699 in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man. (My direct ancestors).
Hu(gh) Cannell was baptized 1 March 1667 in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man.
Jo. Cannell had at least one brother, named after their father, Gilbt Cannell, who was baptized on 24 August 1646 in Braddan, Middle, Isle of Man.
To the northwest, Braddan borders Michael. I have located two baptism records in Michael, Isle of Man, for Gilbt Cannell, both listed as the sons of Jo. Cannell. The first one is dated 8 February 1614, the second on 6 Apr 1615. It may very well be that the first son died, and they named the second son Gilbt as well. I have a DNA connection to others with Cannell ancestors from Michael, so it’s highly likely that my ancestor Gilbt Cannell was baptized in Michael. Gilbt Cannell was buried on 4 September 1683 in Michael.
The surname Cannell is peculiar to the Isle of Man. It is a Manx surname, with strong ties to the Isle of Man. It is a shortened form of Gaelic Mac Dhomhnaill ‘son of Domhnall’. It is equivalent to Scottish McDonald and Irish McConnell.
Cannell is one of the earliest recorded surnames on the Isle of Man. An Ogham Stone from the 5th century A.D. found at Ballaqueeny on the Isle of Man reads that this is the stone of “Bivadonis Maqi Mucoi Cunava(li)” Cunava or Cunavali being the tribal name predating Cannell (Connell, O’Connell, McConnell etc.). (1)
In a listing of Manx surnames by occurrences in the 1881 census of the Isle of Man, there were a total of 612 people with the name Cannell.
The Manx cat is a breed of domestic cat that originates on the Isle of Man, with a mutation that shortens the tail. When I was a child, I had a gray Manx cat named Chablis that we called Chebbie.
The Isle of Man is in the middle of the Irish Sea at the center of the British Isles. It is 33 miles (53km)long and 13 miles (22km) wide at its broadest point, with a total land area of 227 square miles (572 square km).
Large-scale immigration from Ireland in the fifth century AD sparked the island’s Gaelicisation, when Irish missionaries following the teaching of St. Patrick began settling on the island. As shown by Ogham inscriptions, and the Manx language emerged. It is a Goidelic language that shares a strong relationship with Scottish and Irish Gaelic. (2)
The Isle of Man was not directly affected by the upheaval of Celtic “Iron Age” civilization brought about by the Roman conquest of Britain from 43 to around 410 A.D., and a Roman naval presence in the Irish Sea might have even had a stabilizing effect. Manx civilization barely changed until the Vikings arrived in the area in 800 A.D., except for the introduction of a new religion, Christianity. (2)
The Anglo-Saxon King Edwin of Northumbria conquered Man in the seventh century, and he thereafter invaded Ireland from Man. It’s unclear how much of an impact the Northumbrians had on Man, but relatively few place names in Man have Old English roots.
At the end of the eighth century, Vikings arrived. They created Tynwald and made other territorial divides that are still in place today. In the Treaty of Perth in 1266, King Magnus VI of Norway gave the islands to King Alexander III of Scotland. However, it wasn’t until the Manx were vanquished in the Battle of Ronaldsway, close to Castletown, in 1275 that Scottish authority over Man was solidified.
In 1399, the island was placed under the feudal dominion of the English Crown following a period of alternate governance by the Kings of England and Scotland. Although the island did not join the Kingdom of Great Britain in the 18th century or its successors, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland or the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the lordship was returned to the British Crown in 1765. Its internal self-government has never been lost. The first national legislature in the world to provide women the right to vote in a general election was the Isle of Man Parliament in Tynwald in 1881, albeit married women were not granted this privilege. (4)
Map of Isle of Man
I have paternal DNA matches to others with ancestry from the Isle of Man, including matches to those with Moore ancestors from Patrick, Arbory and Rushen, and Braddan. As well as matches to those with Cannel ancestors from Malew, Arbory and Rushen, Ballaugh, and Michael.
If you want to learn more about my Lamb/Moore and Doty ancestors, click on the surnames.
Graphic above is Gateway Ancestors. Artwork from bookThe Legend of Holly Clausby Brittney Ryan with illustrations by Laurel Long.
Many describe our Wentworth ancestors as Gateway Ancestors, meaning a direct link to being descended from royalty. This is partly true, via a female line some generations back lead to being descended from King John I of England. I would consider our direct Wentworth ancestors to be more royalty adjacent.
The members of the Wentworth family of both the U.S. and Australia are descended from Thomas Wentworth, who died in 1522 in Yorkshire, England, and Jane, the daughter of Sir Oliver Mirfield.
The American Wentworth branch of New Hampshire is descended from Thomas’ son Oliver. The Wentworth branch of Virginia and Maryland, and the Australian Wentworths, are descended from another son, Roger. My line is via the son Roger Wentworth and his wife Elizabeth Wentworth, who were kin.
Roger Wentworth’s wife Elizabeth was the daughter of John Wentworth, Gentleman of Pontefract (Pomfret), who had 40 acres in Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire. Her father died when she was 13 years old. It is a 2.5-mile distance between Pontefract and Ferrybridge. Thomas Wentworth, of North Elmsall, West Yorkshire, Esquire, became her guardian and married her to his second son, Roger.
The land in Ferbrigg (Ferrybridge), consisting of forty acres, was held by John Wentworth under a system of knight-service, meaning he owed military service to the king in exchange for the land.
When John Wentworth died, the land reverted to the crown, as it was held by knight-service. King Henry VII, instead of simply taking the land, seized it in fee, meaning he took ownership of the land and its associated rights. Elizabeth, John Wentworth’s daughter and heir, was thirteen years old at the time. Henry VII also took Elizabeth into his fee, meaning he took control of her and her inheritance, including the land.
The Wentworth family was a prominent American political family, mostly based in the British colonies and later the U.S. states of New Hampshire, Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Sarah Wentworth is my paternal 9th great-grandmother. Many list her as born in Virginia, but she was born in Yorkshire, England, prior to the family coming to Colonial America. She was born about 1645, and died about 1700 in Stafford County, Virginia. She married in Charles County, Maryland to Daniel Mathena (Matheny), who was born at Bossenden Farm near Canterbury in County Kent, England. He died at his Hope Plantation in Stafford County, Virginia.
There is much written about my Mathena (Matheny) ancestors in Colonial America, England, and France. He was the son of William Matheny, the great-grandson of a Huguenot refugee from Flanders. I intend to fully write about him and his ancestry in the future.
Daniel Mathena went to Charles County, Maryland, where he acquired Portowne, Wentworth-Woodhouse, Fernes, Mathena’a Folly, and Cowland plantations in Charles County. He acquired Wentworth-Woodhouse from his father-in-law, Thomas Wentworth. In 1681, Daniel Mathena became embroiled in an early Protestant uprising against Lord Baltimore’s dominated Catholic government in Colonial Maryland. He was given a choice to leave Maryland or stand trial. He left to avoid prosecution for his part in the rebellion. He, with Sarah and the rest of the family, moved to present-day Stafford County, Virginia and to Hope Plantation on Aquia Creek, where he farmed tobacco.
Daniel Mathena and Sarah Wentworth had the following children:
Mary Matheny was born in 1663 at Mathenia’s Folly in Charles County, Maryland, and died in 1679 at Mathenia’s Folly in Charles County, Maryland.
Susannah Matheny was born 11 January 1664 at Mathenia’s Folly in Charles County, Maryland, and died 8 June 1708 in Stafford County, Virginia. She married first to Solomon Day, and second to John Davis. (She and husband John Davis are my direct ancestors).
Sarah Matheny was born in 1668 in Charles County, Maryland, and died in 1679 in Charles County, Maryland.
Elizabeth Matheny was born 1671 in Charles County, Maryland, and died 1674.
William Wentworth Matheny was born about 1665 in Charles County, Maryland, and died 12 December 1705 at Hope Plantation, Stafford County, Virginia. He married Frances, widow of Richard Mason.
Daniel Mathena, Jr., was born in 1674 in Charles County, Maryland, and died about 1750 in Maryland or Virginia.
Pictured above is the tombstone for Daniel Mathena (Matheny)
Daniel and Sarah are both buried in the Aquia Episcopal Church Cemetery in Aquia, Stafford County, Virginia.
Sarah Wentworth was the daughter of Thomas Wentworth, a descendent of the Wentworth-Woodhouse (Wodehouse) families of England, and Isabell Joynson. Her father, a Gentleman, was of Wentworth’s Rest and Wentworth-Woodhouse Plantations in Charles County, Maryland. Daniel Mathena and Thomas Wentworth were neighbors.
Photo above is of the Church of St. Martin in Womersley.
There are two marriage records found for Thomas Wentworth. He marries Isabell (incorrectly transcribed as Scott) Joynson on 7 November 1643 at the Church of St. Martin in Womersley. Womersley is about 5 miles from South Kirkby, where he was born, and he would have been 18 years old.
The parentage of Isabell Joynson is taken from the burial record of her brother named Henry Joynson, the baptism record of her brother Henry Johnson, and the baptism record of her sister Judith Johnson. All the records list them as the children of William Joynson of Smeaton (Kirk Smeaton). Kirk Smeaton is about 3 miles from Womersley.
It’s far from easy to read the handwriting in these Womersley church records from the Tudor era. Those attempting to transcribe the records read Isabell as Scott, but when I viewed the church record and researched handwriting styles of this period, her name is clearly listed as Isabell Joynson.
They listed Henry Joynson as Judaby! Once again, when I viewed the church record, it took me a while to realize that it said Henry. I knew Judaby was incorrect.
Also, in the Judith Johnson baptism record they list her as Indith. I was able to see pretty quickly that it was Judith.
William Joynson had at least five children:
Isabell Joynson was born about 1627 in Kirk Smeaton, Yorkshire, and died before January 1658 at Womersley, Yorkshire. She married Thomas Wentworth on 7 November 1643 at the Church of St. Martin in Womersley, Yorkshire.
Henry Joynson was born about 1630 in Kirk Smeaton, Yorkshire, and buried 7 June 1641 in the churchyard of St. Martin in Womersley, Yorkshire.
Judith Johnson was baptized 20 September 1635 at the Church of St. Martin in Womersley, Yorkshire.
Henry Johnson was baptized 21 July 1641 at the Church of St. Martin in Womersley, Yorkshire.
Elizabeth Joynson, spinster, was buried 11 January 1668 in the churchyard of St. Martin in Womersley, Yorkshire.
Willliam Joynson may have been related to:
James Johnson, who married Ann Kirby on 27 September 1661 at the Church of St. Martin in Womersley, Yorkshire.
Thomas Johnson, who married Anne Sate on 14 November 1661 at the Church of St. Martin in Womersley, Yorkshire. This Thomas Johnson may have been the Thomas who was the schoolmaster at Kildwick, Yorkshire.
Isabell Joynson, wife of Thomas Wentworth, would have been the mother of our ancestor Sarah Wentworth Mathena. Isabell dies before January 1658 when Thomas Wentworth marries second to Elizabeth Hodgson at the Church of St. Martin in Womersley. This second wife would have been the one to come to Colonial Virginia with him.
Thomas Wentworth was christened on 13 September 1625 at All Saints in South Kirkby, Yorkshire, England. He was the son of Richard Wentworth and Anne Holgate. He was born into a cadet branch of the ancient Wentworth family. Anne Holgate was baptized on 27 January 1603 at Royston, Yorkshire, England, as the daughter of Henry Hoalgate (Holgate). Based on her baptism record it shows that Henry Holgate lived in Grimethorpe. The name of the wife of Henry Holgate is unknown, some link him as being married to a woman named Mary Walker, but I have not seen any church records or other documentation to link her conclusively as being married to Henry Holgate of Grimethorpe, Yorkshire, England. Although, it is a possibility. She may be the Mary Walker baptized on 6 February 1585 in Kildwick, Yorkshire, England, as the daughter of George Walker and Jeneta ____.
Henry Holgate was baptized 17 November 1582 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, and died 18 March 1657 in Grimethorpe, Yorkshire, England. He was the son of John Holgate.
Some list Henry Holgate as the son of John Holgate and Ellena Specke. This is not possible for John was only twelve years old when the marriage of this couple took place. Johannes (John) Holgat married Ellena Specke on 18 May 1561 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. He was most-likely kin.
Our John Holgate married Grace Normanton on 6 November 1570 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
They had at least one child, a daughter, named Mary Holgate. She was baptized 1 February 1573 at Halifax, Yorkshire, England, and buried 15 November 1595 at St. John the Baptist churchyard in Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
Grace Normanton Holgate would have died prior to him marrying again in 1576.
Johne Holgate married Margaret Vicars on 1 July 1576 at St John the Baptist, Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
We know that Margaret Vicars was the daughter of Edmund Vicars of Birstall, Yorkshire, England. Margaret was baptized 1 December 1540 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. This makes Margaret aged thirty-five when she married.
Only the name of the father is listed in the baptism records, so I am assuming his wife Margaret Vicars was the mother of all these children. John Holgate had the following children:
Michaell Holgate baptized August 1577 at St. John the Baptist Church Halifax, Yorkshire, England. He married Sara Cheetam on 13 April 1607 at St. John the Baptist Church Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
Prudence Holgate baptized 11 August 1577 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. She died 11 November 1632 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
John Holgate baptized 14 September 1579 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, and was buried 10 January 1619/1620 at St Peter’s, Birstall, Yorkshire, England. He married Elizabeth Roods on 4 July 1604 at St Peter’s Church, Birstall Yorkshire, England.
Susan Holgate who married Isaac Wilson on 15 May 1611 at St. John the Baptist Church, Halifax, Yorkshire, England. She died 11 November 1632 in Overton, Yorkshire, England. As adults, most of her children migrated to Colonial Massachusetts.
Henry Holgate baptized on 17 November 1582 at St. John the Baptist Church Halifax, Yorkshire, England. He died 18 March 1657 at Grimethorpe, Yorkshire, England. His wife’s name may have been Mary Walker.
Grace Holgate baptized 27 February 1585 at St. John the Baptist Church Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
Sara Holgate baptized 27 February 1586 at St. John the Baptist Church, Halifax, Yorkshire, England. She married James Wilkinson on 13 Oct 1618 at St. John the Baptist Church, Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
Ester Holgate baptized 3 November 1588 at St. John the Baptist Church, Halifax, Yorkshire, England.
Back to our Wentworth ancestors. Thomas Wentworth was christened on 13 September 1625 at All Saints in South Kirkby, Yorkshire, England. He was the son of Richard Wentworth and Anne Holgate.
Richard Wentworth was the son of Sir William Wentworth, Sr. and Margaret Hales.
“Sir William Wentworth of South Kirkby Son & Heir of Sir Thomas Wentworth Marryed Margaret Daughter of Sir Alex’r Hales and had issue Sir Thomas, Richard, Michael, Hugh, Ann Marryed to John Rayes Esqe and Eliz marryed to Thomas Horncastle Esqe“. (1)
Sir William Wentworth was the son of Sir Thomas Wentworth (II) and his wife Ursula Swinnowe. Ursula Swinnowe was the daughter of John Swinhow.
“Sir Thomas Wentworth of South Kirkby Marryed Ursula Daughter of John Swinowe Esqe and had issue, Sir William & John, Thomas, & Dorothy Marryed to Mr Bolton, Frances to Mr. Hewett“. (1)
Sir Thomas Wentworth (II) was the son of Sir Thomas Wentworth (I) and Elizabeth Flinthill, the daughter of Edward Flinthill.
“Sir Thomas Wentworth of South Kirkby Son, Heir of Roger Wentworth Marryed Eliz Daughter & Heir of Sir William Flinthill and had issue Sir Thomas, Roger, Christopher, Hugh and Alice Marryed to John Barker Esqe, Isabel Marryed to Thomas Fliteholle Esqe“. (1)
Sir Thomas Wentworth (I) was the son of Roger Wentworth and his wife, Elizabeth Wentworth. At the beginning of this post, I discussed the relationship between Roger Wentworth and his wife Elizabeth Wenworth, who were kin to each other.
“Roger Wentworth of South Kirkby, Esqe, Second Son of Sir Thomas Wentworth of North Elmshall Marryed Eliz Daughter and sole heir of Mr John Wentworth of Poulepott and had issue Thomas, William, John, Henry & Isabel, Marryed to Lione Portington of Barnybydunn Esqe, Eliz Marryed to Sir Nicholas Fitzwilliams of Bently near Doncaster“. (2)
Roger Wentworth, Esq. was the second son of Sir Thomas Wentworth of North Elmsall, England, and Jane Mirfield (daughter and eventual posthumous co-heiress of Oliver Mirfield of Howley by his wife Isabel Savile).
Sir Thomas Wentworth was the son of John Wentworth, Esq. of North Elmsall, England and Joan Calverley.
It is at this point, with our ancestor Joan Calverley, that our line becomes directly descended from English Royalty.
She was the daughter of Walter Calverley and Elizabeth Markenfield (the daughter of Sir Thomas Markenfield and Beatrice Sotehill).
Above is the wax figure of John I, King of England found at Potter’s Wax Museum in St. Augustine, Florida.
My family line going back to King John I of England, is as follows:
Beatrice Sotehill and Sir Thomas Markenfield.
Henry Sotehill and Eleanor Moseley.
Sir Henry Sotehill and Joan FitzWilliam.
Sir William FitzWilliam and Maude de Cromwell.
Sir Ralph Cromwell and Maud de Bernacke.
Sir John Bernacke and Joan Marmion.
Sir John Marmion and Maud de Furnival.
Sir John Marmion and Isabel _____.
Sir William Marmion and Lora de Dover.
Rose (Rohese) de Dover and Sir Richard FitzRoy.
King John I of England and his mistress Adela De Warenne.
King John I and his mistress Adela De Warenne were related. She was his half-first cousin. Being descended from this couple does make us related to many, many people, including royalty, historical figures, politicians, etc.
The scandalous Barbara Wentworth. She was a sister to our ancestor, Thomas Wentworth. Both were the children of Roger Wentworth and Elizabeth Wentworth. I discussed Roger and Elizabeth earlier. Roger’s father, Thomas Wentworth, became the guardian of Elizabeth at age 13 after her father, John Wentworth, died, and he married her to his second son, Roger Wentworth.
Being from a cadet branch of the Wentworth family, Barbara’s family were considered of the minor nobility during the Tudor era.
When she was five years old, her parents arranged for her to be married to Anthony Norman, who was seven years old. Thereafter, the couple lived with Barbara’s parents.
Once Barbara reached the age of twelve, it was considered to be the age of consent for marriage to a Tudor woman. At the time, she stated that she would never accept Anthony as her husband. According to witnesses, her relations tried to persuade her to accept Anthony as her husband. She was not convinced despite the pleas from her family and expressed she could not “fynde it in hir harte to love hym.” It was said that some saw Anthony try to kiss her occasionally after returning from travels, but she always rejected his attempts.
When Barbara was about twenty-three years old, in 1549, she tried to have the marriage annulled. We can reasonably conclude that her reasons were because she wanted to marry someone else.
Documents regarding this case are available to read at York, including witness statements. Her husband, Anthony, fought against having the marriage annulled. His own witnesses aim to prove that the “lowe pepill” of the area considered them to be man and wife, and that they had lived together under the same roof up until five years prior.
The actual judgement documents are not available and have been lost to time, but the laws at the time were generally accepted to mean that marriages conducted between children were not valid unless both parties consented upon reaching the age majority and the union must have been consummated. The documents show that once Barbara was old enough, she did not consent to the marriage, and that it was not consummated.
A few months later, in January 1550, Barbara remarried, so we can conclude that her marriage to Anthony was deemed invalid. It appears that her new groom would have been able to know of the verdict and would not have taken her to be his wife, if he believed she was still legally married to Anthony. After all, the banns were called, and the marriage was performed in public.
The marriage banns were read at Adwick-le-Street in Christmas week 1549 for Barbara’s marriage to Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York, and evidently no objections were made. The wedding was at Bishopthorpe (where the Archbishops of York officially resided) on 15th January 1550.
The Church of England under the reign of Edward VI had no requirement for celibacy. He was aged sixty-eight when the marriage took place. He was old enough to be her grandfather!
We also have a connection to the Holgate family of Archbishop Robert Holgate. Our ancestor Thomas Wentworth, brother of Barbara Wentworth, had a great-grandson, Richard Wentworth, who married Anne Holgate.
We know that our ancestor Anne Holgate was baptized on 27 January 1603 at Royston, Yorkshire, England, as the daughter of Henry Hoalgate (Holgate). In Dugdale’s Visitation of Yorkshire, it shows that her father, Henry Holgate, was of Grimethorpe, Yorkshire. The distance between where Henry lived in Grimethorpe and where his daughter was baptized at Royston is 4.9 miles.
Archbishop Robert Holgate was born about 1482 in Hemsworth, Yorkshire. He was the son of Thomas Holgate and Elizabeth Champernon.
Hemsworth is 4.8 miles from Grimethorpe. There was a distant kinship between Archbishop Robert Holgate, and our ancestor, Anne Holgate Wentworth. She was born one-hundred and twenty-one years after the birth of the Archbishop.
Pictured above is Archbishop Robert Holgate.
It’s difficult to gauge Barbara’s feelings about marrying someone old enough to be her grandfather. During the entire resulting scandal, only the perspectives of the men are expressed. We can only make assumptions about Barbara’s thoughts. We might conclude that the marriage was likely her decision, since she initiated the annulment of her marriage to Anthony Norman in order to marry Archbishop Holgate.
The reasons why Archbishop Holgate wanted to marry are known. He married in order to prove his Protestantism to the skeptical Duke of Northumberland.
Her family appears to have been quite upset regarding the situation. It is impossible to determine if their anger stemmed from her annulment with Anthony or her union with the Archbishop. This period in England was one of significant upheaval, and not everyone supported the notion that clergy could abandon their vow of celibacy.
Barbara’s father’s will, created in 1551 just after her marriage to the Archbishop, does not mention her at all, as he bequeaths all his assets to his other three children. Nevertheless, her brother seems to have maintained a connection with her, as his own will names her as an executor.
It is rumored that Barbara had two children with the Archbishop, but there is no evidence to support this claim. This is not uncommon, as births were seldom recorded unless the child belonged to the highest ranks of the nobility. In 1558, a Robert Holgate from Yorkshire entered Christ’s College, Cambridge. He may have been a son of Robert Holgate and Barbara Wentworth.
Their lifestyle appears to have been quite comfortable. The archbishop was influential and affluent, suggesting that Barbara enjoyed the privileges of a noblewoman, including luxurious clothing, exquisite cuisine, and numerous servants at her service. The inventories of the Archbishop revealed lavish items such as Turkish carpets, beds filled with down feathers, and gold dishes among their luxuries.
Two years following the marriage between Barbara and the Archbishop, Anthony went to the king’s council seeking to reclaim Barbara. Anthony was in significant debt. Did Anthony want her back because he truly loved her? Or did he believe he might receive financial restitution for the “losses” he had endured?
His lawsuit must have been rejected, as the Council called for an investigation, and nothing further was heard about it. Later, the council awarded funds to the Archbishop and his wife together, indicating that their union likely received their formal endorsement.
Following the death of the Protestant King Edward in 1553, there was a last-ditch effort by the Duke of Northumberland to install his daughter-in-law Jane Grey as queen, but ultimately, the Catholic Queen Mary ascended to the throne.
When Queen Mary ascended to the throne in 1553 and reinstated Catholicism in England, Holgate was imprisoned in the Tower and subsequently lost his position for violating his vow of celibacy. In March 1554, all his assets, including jewelry and silverware, were confiscated. In addition to his opulent decorations, the Archbishop possessed a significant number of livestock, including 2,500 sheep and “four or five score” horses. Everything was sold prior to any official accusations being made against him, about which he later expressed great dissatisfaction.
In the latter months of 1554, Archbishop Holgate composed a letter of “apology” to the Queen, admitting to his transgressions and renouncing them. He stated that he had made an unwise marriage, setting a poor example, but claimed he wedded Barbara only to avoid being labeled a papist by the Duke of Northumberland. He sincerely expressed remorse for this and implored the queen for her pardon. The Queen forgave him. After paying the crown £1,000 for his offenses, and a bond of 20,000 marks required by the Queen to assure his “good behavior.” Holgate was released from the Tower in January 1555 but was never allowed to resume his priestly office. But he did regain many of his estates – at Yeddingham, Huggate, Hemsworth, Malton and York, promising to use his assets for charitable purposes. He passed away in London that November, leaving a will proved 5th December 1556.
During his life, he established three grammar schools in Hemsworth, where he was born. Later, in the late nineteenth century, the school moved to Barnsley; ironically, its old Hemsworth buildings are now the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart. He also established schools in Malton, where he had served as Prior of the Gilbertines, and York.
In his will of 1555, he provided that almshouses should be built to provide for persons aged 60 years or over from the ancient parishes of Hemsworth, Felkirk, South Kirkby, and Wragby. Originally located near the Hemsworth church, they were relocated to a new location on the outskirts of Hemsworth in 1860. Today, Archbishop Holgate’s Hospital provides 24 self-contained homes for its almspeople. Barbara Wentworth Holgate is not mentioned in the will of her husband.
So, what became of Barbara? The documentation regarding her concludes with the Archbishop’s decision to renounce their marriage. A 19th-century author suggested that she went back to Anthony and was reunited with him as his wife, but there is no proof to back up that claim.
It is likely she never married again. Individuals opposed to married clergy might have viewed her as lacking in morals. Additionally, there were likely some who believed she was rightly considered Anthony’s spouse.
Photo above is of The Manor House, at Scrooby in the 1920s.
It is believed that she owned Scrooby in 1558, due to the grant that provided her joint ownership with the Archbishop. She probably kept the estate for the remainder of her life and relied on its income for support.
We do not know the date of Barbara’s death or where she is buried. I like to think of Barbara as being a strong woman of her time. As we are currently celebrating Women’s History Month in the month of March, I felt it was a perfect time to write about her. She endured years of pressure from her family to accept the marriage to Anthony Norman, a man they had selected for her, but she refused to give in. She then filed a lawsuit for an annulment of her marriage in the church courts. By marrying the Archbishop, she disobeyed her family and the local religious conservatives and would have faced a great deal of social rejection, and possibly downright animosity. Her husband, Archbishop Holgate, for whom she had made so many sacrifices, subsequently rejected her, claiming that he had only married her to keep from being perceived as a Catholic.
Wenworth and Holgate Surname Meanings:
Wentworth. An English surname, a habitational name from Wentworth in Yorkshire. The placename probably derives from the Old English personal name Wintra + Old English worth ‘enclosure’. (3)
Holgate. An English surname from Middle English hol(e) ‘hollow’ + gat(e), gate ‘path, road’. The name may be topographic, for someone who lived by a ‘hollow road’, or habitational from any of several places so named, such as three places called Holgate in Yorkshire. (4)
My direct line, beginning with the ancestors I share with Barbara Wentworth Holgate:
My maternal 12th great-grandmother is Christian Cock. She was born about 1560 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, and died before 3 November 1612 in Somerleyton, Suffolk, England. She married about 1580 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, to Thomas Gentleman. After her husband’s death, she married secondly on 3 June 1600 in Somerleyton, Suffolk, England, to Thomas Harrison. She married twice and had six known children by her first husband and two more by her second husband.
Christian Cock and Thomas Gentleman are my direct ancestors. Thomas Gentleman was the son of William Gentleman and Margaret Balden. There is much more known about my Gentleman ancestors of Dunwich and Southwold, and we can take those lines back much further. I will write about my Gentleman ancestors in the future.
Christian Cock was the daughter of John Cock, who was born about 1540 in Suffolk, England, and died after 27 December 1598 in Southwold, Suffolk, England. Not much is known about her father, John Cock, but he was named in the will of her first husband, Thomas Gentleman, who left him a gold ring. So, we know that he had a cordial relationship with his son-in-law.
There was a will of John Cock of Southwold made on 22 May 1614, and it names all the children of Thomas Gentleman and Christian Cock. However, the wording of the will makes it more likely that this was the will of Christian Cock’s brother or another close relative, rather than that of her father. As well as the fact that her father had died some years before, this will was written, making it highly likely it was the will of her brother or other close kin.
In the 1600s, Southwold, England, was a fishing port town with Puritan emigrants and a history of radicalism. Many Puritans emigrated from Southwold to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s. In 1643/44, Puritanical vandals destroyed 130 pictures and four crosses in the church vestry. My ancestors in Southwold were not Puritans; they were members of the Church of England. Southwold’s economy was based on fishing in the 17th and 18th centuries. The town exported fish to London, Iceland, and the continent. In 1659, a fire destroyed almost the entire town in four hours. When the town was rebuilt, it included large green spaces to prevent future fires.
Southwold was called Sudwolda in 1086 and Sudwald in 1227. From the Old English language, the name means the south woodland or forest.
Although there are no variations of the Cock surname in the few records available for my ancestors, the name can have variants of Cox, Cocke, and sometimes even Cook and Cooke. The origins of the surnames Cox and Cocke are the same as Cock. Whereas Cook(e) has a different meaning, deriving from a person with the occupation of cook, so it is not related to the surname Cock.
I do have Cox ancestors in my tree that were from England and settled in Colonial Maryland, and I will write about them at some time in the future.
The name has a few origins. First, it may have derived from a nickname given to someone proud or that strutted like a male chicken or an occupational name for someone who kept cocks. From the medieval nickname cok, meaning rooster, cock. The nickname was commonly added to given names to create diminutives such as Hancock or Alcock. It is also another term for a young lad. As cock became a common term for a boy, it may also have been used affectionately as a personal name. Another possibility is that it originated from the Anglo-Saxon word cocc, meaning haycock, heap, or hillock; dweller by the hill or hillock. It could also be from Middle English cok cok(k)e, meaning ship’s boat, and so perhaps used for a boatman. Lastly, in London, it could have been a name for someone who lived or worked at a house or inn known as The Cock from a sign depicting a haycock or mound, a boat, or a cock bird. (1, 2, 3, & 4)
I cannot be sure of the exact origins of the surname Cock in my family tree, but Southwold was a fishing village, and the Gentleman family were fishermen that owned fishing boats. It is possible that both the Cock and Gentleman families worked as fishermen, and that the Cock family’s name came from ship’s boat, and they were boatmen. But any of the above-mentioned origins of the surname could be possible.
My Cock and Gentleman ancestors are on my maternal side and are related to my Davidson and Gilman ancestors that I have written about prior.
My direct line:
Christian Cock and Thomas Gentleman.
Margaret Gentleman and Richard Ibrook, Jr. “Eyebrooke”
Ellen “Helen” Ibrook Eyebrooke and Capt. Joshua Hobart.
Above photo is 1958 Carrier Air Conditioner Vintage Ad. Willis Carrier is our Hicks cousin.
My sixth great-grandmother is Rebecca Hicks. She married John Armstrong, Jr. on 26 August 1714 at St Johns Parish, Joppa, Maryland. Joppa is a former colonial town in Maryland. He was the son of John Armstrong and Jane Boone.
She was born at about 1698, making her 16 years old when she married. She was the daughter of William Hicks and Jane ____. I have not seen any documentation showing the maiden name of Jane, wife of William Hicks.
She has sometimes been listed in many trees as being the daughter of William Hicks and Jane Ellery, both born in Devon, England. Her father was William Hicks, but he was not born in Devon, England. He was born in Colonial New York, and his wife’s name was Jane, but not Jane Ellery. Jane Ellery, who married William Hicks in Devon, England, remained in England, where both she and her husband died. This couple never came to Colonial Maryland.
Many researchers mention in their notes that Rebecca Hicks’ parentage is in question. The will of William Hicks names sons William, James, Nehemiah and Henry. William’s will was dated 11 November 1710 and proved 30 December 1710. His wife Jane administered the estate.
After his death, his widow Jane married second to Thomas Cutchin on 28 October 1713 in Joppa, Maryland.
Rebecca Hicks is listed at the bottom of the Hicks family history, Baltimore County Maryland Families, but only with the information that she married John Armstrong
The image above is of the writ of obligation between Elizabeth Hicks, her mother Jane Cutchin, brother-in-law John Armstrong and nephew William Armstrong.
Although there are no daughters mentioned in the will of William Hicks, in the record shown above and cited below, it proves he had at least 2 daughters, Elizabeth and Rebecca. We know that William Hicks died in 1710, and his widow Jane married Thomas Cutchin.
In a document dated 30 January 1723 and found in Baltimore County records, Elizabeth Hicks gave to her mother, Jane Cutchin, the following, saying in this writ of obligation, “one Bright Bay mare with a starr in her forehead and the first colt that this said mare brings is to be given unto William Armstrong son to John Armstrong which said mare shall belong to the said Jane Guggin [Cutchin] during her life and after her death to fall unto Elizabeth Hicks with all her offspring except for said mentioned colt. but in case the said Elizabeth Hicks go to Virginia after her marriage and return unto this county again, then the foresaid mare shall be delivered unto the said Elizabeth Hicks and her husband.“
It does not mention her sister by name, my ancestor, Rebecca Hicks Armstrong, but it does mention Rebecca’s husband, John Armstrong, and her son, William Armstrong (who is also my direct ancestor). Rebecca named her son William after her father and also named a son Nehemiah after her brother, who is mentioned in their father’s will. I also have a DNA connection to the descendants of Nehemiah Hicks.
Rebecca’s father, William Hicks, was born about 1677 in New York. He married Jane ___ about 1694 in Maryland. He died 11 November 1710 in Baltimore, Maryland.
William Hicks was the son of Thomas Hicks and Mary Doughty. Upon seeing her maiden name was Doughty, I thought she could possibly be a descendant of my Mayflower Pilgrim ancestor, Edward Doty. But that is not the case. She was born in Flushing, New York, which is now a part of Queens. She was the daughter of Elias Doughty and Sarah ____. Elias Doughty was born in Oldbury, Gloucestershire, England, and was the son of Puritan minister Rev. Francis Doughty and Bridget ____. The Doughty lines can be taken back several more generations and I will write about these Doughty ancestors in the future.
Thomas Hicks was born about 1640 in either Weymouth, Massachusetts, or Newport, Rhode Island. His parents lived two years in Weymouth before migrating to Newport.
He was the first judge of Queens County New York and filled that office for many years. In 1666 he obtained from Governor Nicolls a patent for four thousand acres of land including Great Neck Long Island and lands adjacent and lived there in English manorial style. He was married twice, both wives were named Mary. His first wife being Mary Butler (widow of John Washburn), by whom he had two sons, Thomas and Jacob.
The famous Quaker preacher Elias Hicks, the founder of that branch of the Society of Friends known to this day as Hicksites, was the son of John Hicks and Mary Smith. He was the grandson of Jacob Hicks and Hanah Carpenter, and the great-grandson of Thomas Hicks and his first wife Mary Bulter.
Elias Hicks is my 2nd cousin, 7x removed, meaning he and my 5th great-grandfather, William Armstrong, were direct 2nd cousins.
Thomas Hicks married secondly to Mary Doughty, with whom he had ten children; six sons: Isaac, William, Stephen, John, Charles, Benjamin and four daughters: Phebe, Charity, Mary and Elizabeth. A paragraph in the New York Post Boy of 24 January 1749 referring to the death of Judge Hicks says he left behind him his own offspring above three hundred children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, dying well into his 90’s.
Artwork above is Peaceable Kingdom, by Edward Hicks, 1834,
American folk painter and distinguished Christian Quaker minister Edward Hicks was the son of Isaac Hicks and Catherine ____. He was the grandson of Gilbert Hicks and Mary Rodman, great-grandson of Issac Hicks and Elizabeth Moore, and the great-great-grandson of Thomas Hicks and second wife Mary Doughty. He became a notable Quaker because of his paintings.
He painted variations on the Quaker theme of peace and brotherly love throughout his life, as exemplified by his more than sixty versions of the Peaceable Kingdom, he also apparently offered artistic instruction. Hicks reportedly taught his younger cousin Thomas Hicks, and the Bucks County Intelligencer in 1864 reported that, as a youth, the academic painter Martin Johnson Heade was “placed under the instruction of Edward Hicks…to be taught the art of painting.” (5)
Edward Hicks is my 3rd cousin, 6x removed, meaning he and my 4th great-grandfather Nathaniel Shepherd Armstrong were direct 3rd cousins.
Thomas Hicks was the son of John Hicks and Herodias Long. John Hicks was born in Southwark St Olave, which is now part of the modern London Borough of Southwark.
Southwark St Olave was an ancient civil and ecclesiastical parish on the south bank of the River Thames, covering the area around where Shard London Bridge now stands in the modern London Borough of Southwark, ultimately named after St. King Olaf II of Norway. The boundaries varied over time, but in general the parish stretched east from London Bridge past Tower Bridge to St Saviour’s Dock. Southwark St Olave and St Thomas replaced the civil parish in 1896. It was abolished in 1904 and absorbed by Bermondsey parish. (1)
The parentage of John Hicks is unproven. We are able to glean some information about him from his marriage record in England.
Image above is a print of The Church of St. Faith, The Crypt of Old St. Paul’s, From a View by Hollar.
He married on 14 March 1637 at St Faiths Church, London, England to Harwood (Herodias) Long, the daughter of William Long:
March 14, 1636/37: Wch date, appeared p[er]sonally John Hicke of ye parish of St. Olaves in Southwark Salter and a batchelour aged about 23 yeares and alledged that he intendeth to marrie with Harwood Long spinster aged about 21 yeares ye daughter of William Long Husbandman who giveth his Consent to this intended marriage And of ye truth of the pr[e]mises as also that he knows of no Lawfull let or impediment by reason of anie pr[ior] contract Consanguinity affinitie or otherwise to hinder this intended marriage he made faith and desires license to be married in ye parish Church of St ffaith London [signed] John Hicke. (3)
Based on his marriage record, he was about 23 years old, which makes his year of birth about 1614, and we know he was from the parish of St. Olaves in Southward Salter. St Olave’s Church, Southwark was a church in Southwark, England which is believed to be mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was located on Tooley Street. It was demolished in 1926 and is now the location of St Olaf House, which houses part of the London Bridge Hospital. (2)
They were married in the under church of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, called St. Faith’s church. There is a Chapel of St. Faith located today in the cathedral’s crypt. Old St Paul’s was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The dedication is to St. Faith, the virgin martyr of Aquitaine, who suffered martyrdom in the time of Diocletian.
The origin of the surname Hicks derives from the given name Hicke and means son of Hick. This name is of English origin and widespread throughout England. The name Hicke is a variant of Richard. Ric means power and hard, meaning strong. It is of Norman origin from the Middle English personal name Hikke, a rhyming pet form of Ricard, a Norman-Picard form of Richard. (4)
There are at least seven people listed as famous descendants of Herodias Long and her partner, George Gardiner. I only found a few famous people descended from Herodias Long and first husband, John Hicks. The first being Willis Carrier, descended from Hannah Hicks Haviland. The others, Elias Hicks, and Edward Hicks, that I discussed earlier, are descendants of Thomas Hicks.
Willis Carrier was an American engineer who is best known for inventing modern air conditioning. He invented the first electrical air conditioning unit in 1902. It was designed to provide a convenient indoor atmosphere in his publishing house to prevent papers from expanding and contracting. In 1915, he founded Carrier Corporation, a company specializing in the manufacture and distribution of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
The direct ancestors of Willis Carrier are Hannah Hicks and William Haviland. Hannah Hicks Haviland was a sibling of my ancestor Thomas Hicks, both being children of John Hicks and Herodias Long.
I live in the high desert of NW Arizona. This summer I will be quietly thanking my Hicks cousin as my HVAC unit keeps me and my kitty Snickers cool!
There is far too much I could write about the lives of Herodias Long and John Hicks; therefore, I decided to write about them in another entry just about them.
The Unexpected History of the Air Conditioner. The invention was once received with chilly skepticism but has become a fixture of American life. By Haleema Shah. smithsonianmag.com
Photo above is a colorized version of a B&W photo of our 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln has always been one of my favorite U.S. Presidents. When I traveled to Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2000, I made sure to visit the Lincoln Monument, Ford’s Theater, and the house across the street where he died. So, I was quite thrilled to discover my connection to him.
This link to Abraham Lincoln is something that I only recently discovered. Partly because it was previously thought by many that my 10th great-grandmother’s maiden name was Clark, and I didn’t make the Gilman connection. She had been confused with Mary Gilman, daughter of emigrants Edward and Mary (Clark) Gilman who was baptized in 1615, but the following evidence indicates she was a sister to Edward Gilman:
Proof that Nicholas Jacob’s wife was Edward Gilman’s sister is found in the Proprietors’ Records of Hingham, Mass., Book A., folio 32. Nicholas Jacob, in 1638, gave one of the tracts granted to him by the town ‘unto Edward Gillman his brother-in-law.’ Edward Gilman’s wife was Mary Clark. Nicholas Jacob’s wife was also named Mary. Hence, if we dismiss the very unlikely hypothesis that Mary Clark had a sister who was also named Mary, the wife of Nicolas Jacob must have been Mary Gilman, sister of Edward. (1)
My maternal 10th great-grandparents are Mary Gilman and Nicholas Jacob.
The parentage of Nicholas Jacob is unknown and unproven. He was born about 1604 in Hingham, Norfolk, England, and died 5 June 1657 in Hingham, Massachusetts. At the time Hingham was in Suffolk County, it is now in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. He and Mary Gilman married about 1628 in Hingham, England.
Mary Gilman was the daughter of Edward Gilman and Margaret James. She was born in Hingham, Norfolk, England, and died 15 June 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts.
In the 1600s, Hingham, England was an agricultural town in the countryside. It was located near Wymondham and had many windmills and inland water traffic.
Her father Edward Gilman was baptized on 20 April 1557 in Caston, Norfolk, England, the family was of Hingham and Caston, which are a distance of 6.4 miles away from each other. The baptism record reads as follows:
Edward Gyllman ye sonn of Edward gyllman was baptised ye xxth day of Aprill A[nn]o predicto (2)
The Gilman surname is derived from the baptismal name Gilmyn. It indicated that the bearer of the name was the son of (or descended from) someone named Gilmyn. The name is of Norman origin, and was brought to England in the wake of the conquest after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. (5)
He died before 15 May 1621 at about age 64 inCaston, Norfolk, England. He was the son of Edward Gilman and Rose (Ryse) Snell. His father, the elder Edward Gilman, is the furthest we can take the Gilman line back in England.
Photo above is of the will of the elder Edward Gilman.
The will of the elder Edward Gilman was dated 5 February 1572/3 and proved by his widow on 7 July 1573 at the Archdeaconry Court of Norwich. In this will he, “devised his mansion house in Gaston (sic.) to his eldest son John, and his other estates were divided among his three other sons and five daughters.” Lands at Saham Toney are mentioned in the will as well. (3 & 4)
In the 1600s, Caston, Norfolk, England was home to Edward Gilman, a prosperous yeoman. Puritans also had a presence in the area, and the village green’s medieval stone cross was damaged by them.
Although we don’t know much else about the Edward Gilman, we can glean from his will that he was a man of some means, for he left his mansion house in Caston to his eldest son John and other lands are mentioned in the village of Saham Toney. The distance between Saham Toney and Caston is 5.5 miles.
His son, my direct ancestor, Edward Gilman was the second born son, meaning that his older brother John Gilman is the one that inherited the mansion house and the main lands. Although the will does divide the remaining lands between all the siblings.
Edward Gilman and Margaret James had several children:
Bridget Gilman, born about 1582; married Edward Lincoln of Hingham.
Edward Gilman (known as the Emigrant), born about 1587 (he was age 50 in 1637), married Mary Clark.
Robert Gilman, son of Edward Gylmmynne of Hingham, married 1st in Hingham on 14 May 1611 to Rose Hawes; married 2nd to widow, Mary Bruen.
John Gilman, married Ann Guerney.
Mary Gilman, born between 1599 and 1604, married Nicholas Jacob.
Margaret Gilman, baptized Hingham, Norfolk, 1 August 1602.
Sarah Gilman, baptized Hingham, England on 4 October or December 1603.
Bridget Gilman who married Edward Lincoln are the ancestors of Abraham Lincoln. My ancestors are Mary Gilman and Nicholas Jacob. His ancestors stayed in Hingam, England for one more generation, whereas mine migrated to Massachusetts earlier.
President Abraham Lincoln’s direct line from Edward Gilman and Margaret James:
Edward Gilman and Margaret James.
Bridget Gilman and Edward Lincoln.
Samuel Lincoln and Mary Lyford.
Mordecai Lincoln and Sarah Jones.
Mordecai Lincoln, Jr. and Hannah Salter.
John Lincoln and Rebecca Flowers.
Capt. Abraham Lincoln and Bathsheba _____.
Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks.
Pres. Abraham Lincoln.
My direct line from Edward Gilman and Margaret James:
Anna Cora Prindle and Joseph Edward Cole (my maternal great-grandparents).
This means that Pres. Abraham Lincoln and I are 7th cousins, 5x removed. My ancestor Mary Ann Davidson Doman and Abraham Lincoln were direct 7th cousins. It is not a super close connection, I have much closer connections to other politicians and people in history, but it brings me great joy none the less. 😊
References:
Clarence Almon Torrey, “English Origin of Edward1 Gilman” in The American Genealogist, 11 (1934):137-138, at 138; digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
Baptism: “Norfolk, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812” Norfolk > Caston > 1539-1720 > image 8 of 36 Norfolk Record Office; Norwich, Norfolk, England; Norfolk Church of England Registers.
Will of Edward Gillman, yeoman of Caston: Archdeaconry Court of Norwich, register copy will 1573, volume Bussell, folio 158. Norfolk Record Office, Norwich, Norfolk, England.
I have a TON of paternal German ancestors from in and around Klingenmünster, Germany. There was lots of intermarriage among the same families, and thus I descend twice from several of the same couples. Many of the surnames are more common ones such as Weiss, Wendel, Fried, Hacker/Hecker, Bohrer, Ohl, Willem, etc. But there are some surnames that are less common such as Propheter, Weinmann, Sartor, Sambach, LeBeau, etc. Then there are the ones that are actually much rarer, such as Fünfstück.
How we get back to my Fünfstück ancestry is via my paternal fifth great-grandmother Maria Katharina Sambach.
Maria Katharina Sambach was born on 1 June 1765 and died 29 January 1832 in Gleiszellen. She was baptized in Klingenmünster. Gleiszellen is 1.1 miles from Klingenmünster. She married on 11 Oct 1785 in Klingenmünster to Peter Wendel, who was the son of Johannes Wendel and Anna Maria _____.
Maria Katharina Sambach was the daughter of Johannes Sambach and Maria Magdalena Fünfstück.Her mother was born about 1742, as the daughter of Georg Fünfstück and Anna Florentina ___.
Because it is such a rare German surname, and often misspelled, I do not find it in very many places in German records. What I do know is my ancestors George Fünfstück and Anna Florentina____ were living in Gleiszellen-Gleishorbach, Südliche Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, when their daughter, Maria Magdalena Fünfstück (my direct ancestor) was baptized there on 12 April 1736. The family migrated to Copenhagen, Denmark, before August 1737. The baptism records for the next two children are found in the church records of Sankt Petri, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn, Denmark.
Sankt Petri Kirke (St. Peter’s Church) in Copenhagen, Denmark, served the German-speaking congregation in Copenhagen. The baptism records for Christian Fünfstück and Anna Florentina Fünfstück are found within the church records of St. Peter’s.
Germans migrated to Denmark during this time for economic opportunities, to escape from German instability, and sometimes for religious freedom. Some reasons they returned to Germany: they found that Denmark also had economic hardships, conscription and increased control by Danish rulers, failed expectations, new opportunities back home – a new ruler in a German state might have offered incentives to return home, chain migration – if family members had already settled back in Germany, it provided support for them if they returned. There was constant warfare in the 18th century, as well as German fragmentation – it was not a single country, it had several small states, each with different rulers.
They disappear from church records in Copenhagen and returned to Germany sometime prior to 1761. Their daughter Maria Magdalena Fünfstück married on 11 October 1761 in Klingenmuenster, Südliche Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, to Johannes Sambach, the son of Stephan Sambach.
The Fünfstück surname was misread and mistranslated by many researchers attempting to read German church records (the church records often being quite difficult to read!) as Funstrocks/Funstercke. It was a cousin in Germany that correctly read and listed her maiden name in his tree as Fünfstuck.
The surname Fünfstück is a rare surname, in German the word means five pieces or five parts. Fünf is the word for the number five in the German language. The word stück has multiple meanings, including piece, item, and part. It comes from the Middle High German word stücke and the Old High German word stucchi. It is related to the word stock and likely means “that which is cut off or hewn to pieces“.
The exact meaning of the surname Fünfstück has been lost to time, but it thought to be a nickname related to something involving the number five.
Spelled with umlauts as Fünfstück, it is found mainly in Germany where there are 422 people with the surname, six in Austria, and one in Switzerland. Without the umlaut, spelled as Funfstuck, it is found only in the United States, where twenty-seven people carry the surname.
Currently, Klingenmünster has 2,400 inhabitants and is part of the municipality of Bad Bergzabern in the Südliche Weinstraße (Southern Wine Route) district in the southern part of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It’s located along the German Wine Route and is known for its vineyards, rolling hills, and picturesque villages. The region is also a popular destination for hiking. The village of Klingenmünster is located directly at the transition of the Palatinate Forest to the Rhineland plain and is surrounded by vineyards. The center of the village was once the important Benedictine abbey “Clinga Monasterium”, which is one of the oldest abbeys in Germany. High above Klingenmünster towers majestically the Landeck Castle, a ruined hill castle, accessible via hiking trails, the castle ruins of Heidenschuh and Schlössel can also be explored.
My direct line:
George Fünfstück and Anna Florentina ____
Maria Magdalena Fünfstück and Johannes Sambach
Maria Katharina Sambach and Peter Wendel
Kathrina Wendel and Johann Jakob Weiß
Heinrich Weiß and Margaretha Fried
Margaret (Margarethe) Weissand Elias “Eli” (Wegt) Nutick (my 2nd great-grandparents)
This blog post was updated with new information on 7 January 2026.
I am an avid Genealogist. I am an ACDP - Associate of the Congregation of Divine Providence (Sisters of Divine Providence of Texas). If you are unfamiliar with what a Religious Associate (also called an Affiliate, Consociate, Oblate, Companion) is exactly, visit my about me page for more information. In community college, I majored in American Sign Language/Deaf Studies, and Interdisciplinary Studies when at university.
Anna's Musings & Writings 